Cammack calls on Treasury to protect U.S. medical innovation from Chinese IP theft

Press release from Rep. Kat Cammack

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott K. H. Bessent, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), urging swift action to address a Chinese investment that threatens U.S. intellectual property, jobs, and national security. The letter highlights growing concerns surrounding FastWave Medical, a Minnesota-based American startup pioneering laser-based intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) technology — a lifesaving advancement in cardiovascular care with critical dual-use applications in semiconductor manufacturing and precision military systems.

FastWave’s technology is classified under federal export controls as a “critical technology” due to its national-security implications. Yet the company’s future is being jeopardized by Grand Pharmaceutical (GP), a Chinese investor operating through its Hong Kong subsidiary, which has used its veto power to block new U.S. capital investment for more than a year.

“This is exactly how the Chinese Communist Party seeks to gain leverage over American innovation,” said Congresswoman Cammack. “They buy in, block out U.S. investors, and bleed out the company until they can siphon off our intellectual property and take it back to Beijing. We can’t let that happen — not with technologies that save American lives and protect our national security.”

“Grand Pharmaceutical’s actions are preventing a vital U.S. innovation from reaching the patients who need it most,” said Dr. Arthur Lee, an interventional cardiologist based in Gainesville, Florida, and Managing Partner at Epic Venture Partners, an investor in FastWave. “America’s technological leadership, economic security, and the health of millions of citizens are on the line. A U.S. MedTech startup pursuing federally regulated critical technology is being suffocated by a foreign entity with clear connections to the People’s Republic of China. We need CFIUS to act decisively so FastWave can raise investment capital and continue its journey toward delivering life-saving technology to patients here at home.”

“We have the science, intellectual property, and team to continue building a genuine U.S. medtech success story,” said Scott Nelson, co-founder and CEO of FastWave Medical. “However, Grand Pharmaceutical’s actions, including an undisclosed partnership with a direct Chinese IVL competitor, are standing in the way of our novel IVL systems reaching the physicians and patients who truly need them. In addition, because of the dual-use potential for defense and semiconductor manufacturing, it’s very concerning that our technology may be extracted for ulterior motives.”

Read the full letter here. 

Read coverage by the Wall Street Journal here.